The Blind Spot in the Seer's Eyes
Summary: One young wizard with powers Professor Trelawny never even dreamed of. A man twisted in his bloodlust. The time for action is now. Follow the young wizard as he learns of deception, and how his powers have condemned him.
Chapter 3: Look-at-Me Vibes
After the day he'd just had, Todd desperately wished that he didn't have to go to the feast. He asked Professor Dumbledore if he could skip it, but the headmaster would not give in, and insisted Todd be there for the students to see.
Todd had become swamped in the memories of the castle. He found a room that no one had ever been in. Inside, Todd felt the living, breathing heart of the castle. Todd sat in that room, on the ground, and listened as the castle regaled him with memories of over one thousand years.
Following his leaving of the room, as his head hurt from listening, he bumped into Professor Snape. They bickered and snapped at each other, and Todd so hated being pitted against another person. The pointless battle made Todd retreat to the nearest tower, which happened to be the North Tower, where he'd found Sybil Trelawny.
"Ah, my dear…I'm so sorry about your parents," the woman who glittered like a bug said ruefully.
"And I'm so sorry about your family's gift," Todd retorted in the same tone.
"Beg your pardon? I think you are rather stressed and don't know what you're insinuating," Professor Trelawny said kindly.
"I know exactly what I'm insinuating. That poor Potter boy. You just can't lay off him, can you? I don't See his death in his near future," he explained.
Trelawny heaved a sigh, as though dealing with an amateur. "Dear boy, you couldn't have possibly Seen what I have Seen. I am from a rare and truly gifted line. That's why I'm teaching Divination here at Hogwarts."
Todd snorted with laughter. "You? A Seer? My family's pet Augurey can See more than you."
Again, Trelawny did not look offended, but instead gave Todd a very patronizing look. "It does not do to resort to insults, Mr. Farring," she said, as though to shock him with the knowledge of his name.
"It does not do to resort to lying, deception, and a spooky manner to have your predictions noted," Todd growled.
"If you were a better Seer than I, you would be teaching Divination." It was said with finality, as though that made the matter clear.
"You should know as well as I that the Sight can not be learned. Telling children how to decipher their deaths isn't exactly a proper career for anyone. Even if you had a bit of the Sight, you use it too frivolously. Just telling anyone who doesn't ask what's in their future. Did it ever occur to you that some people don't want to know the future!?" He'd gotten louder and louder. He was breathing heavily. He realized he had given away the one thing he vowed never to give away to anyone.
"Mr. Farring. Todd. I, at least, have learned to fully accept my gift."
Todd stormed out of the tower and returned to his room. "Fully accept your gift? Fully accept your gift? That's because you have no GIFT TO ACCEPT!" he shouted on his way out. It was then he was visited by Professor Dumbledore. After a calming chat with the eccentric headmaster, Todd readied himself to become a spectacle for the feast. Regular, black robes brought out the intensity of his white hair. Todd almost groaned when he looked at the next product he thought he'd use. The black eyeliner would make the color of his eyes stand out almost painfully, but he couldn't get himself to wear make-up, even for the sake of appearances. He shook his head and refused his American Goth look. He sat himself down beside Minerva McGonagall.
"You look like you had a trying day," the transfiguration teacher observed.
Indeed, Todd's hair wasn't neat, as he'd run his hands through it many times before he left his room. His eyes were bloodshot, which was impressive because they were already pink.
"I met Sybil Trelawny, today," Todd explained, knowing this would strike a sympathetic chord in the strict teacher's heart.
"I pity you."
"You shouldn't. You should pity her. She can't tell that she doesn't have the Sight, and she tried telling me how mine is premature at best," he rambled.
"You're a Seer?"
Damn, that was the wrong thing to say, Todd thought. "Yes. I have the Sight. I don't make a spectacle of it to teach to children, and I don't See death in everyone's near future. I very rarely look into a person's future if they don't ask me; I mainly look into the past." He felt as if he needed to justify himself. It would be horrible if he was put in the same category as the fraud.
"I understand. Professor Dumbledore told me about you. About how you are no con artist."
Todd sighed in relief as McGonagall got up to retrieve the first years. He didn't need to be on this professor's bad side. He kept himself from scanning the Great Hall, filled to the brim with children. The first years had yet to be Sorted. Todd knew that if he looked about the room and made eye contact with any of the students, he would See their pasts, and he didn't feel like delving into anyone's life at the moment. One table gave off a 'look-at-me' vibe, which Todd was finding hard to refuse. He knew it was the table that held the students of Gryffindor, but he doubted it was the founder who wanted him to See the children sitting there.
A sharp pang of hunger startled Todd. He hadn't been hungry all day, but now that the feast was still a bit away, his stomach chose to notify him of its emptiness. He suppressed a groan at the amount of students that had just walked through the door. The Sorting would take forever, he thought.
Todd watched everything, only half understanding it. He let his mind wander, knowing that if he dwelled on food, hunger would irritate him. After McGonagall took the Sorting Hat away, Todd noticed that the bowls and things were still devoid of any type of food. The Headmaster stood up and looked around the room.
"I have very few words to say before the feast. Bon appeteet," he said.
Must be trying his hand at Italian, Todd thought a second before the platters and dishes filled themselves with food. Mouth watering, Todd loaded his plate, not noticing the odd stares he was getting from the students.
Todd's dreams that night were all scenes he had Seen before. He didn't understand why. In the morning, he found he didn't want breakfast, as he ate a bit too much the night before. He located his classroom, and waited for the first class to join him. He had seventh years. The grades went down for him. Dumbledore and McGonagall had told him that that should make it easier to keep track of which class he had, since he was a new teacher.
About ten students entered the classroom. "Is this all?" he asked them. They nodded hesitantly as they sat themselves down at the desks. "Don't bother to tell me why, yes. Well, I am Professor Farring." He went through his lesson, thinking of how odd 'Professor Farring' sounded. He'd never Seen himself as a teacher, especially in a subject that was one of his worst.
As they walked out, sixth years walked in. Todd did a double take as he glanced at a black-haired boy. The boy stared back when he saw Todd. Pink eyes met green, and confusion whirled in Todd's mind. Harry Potter, he Saw. And felt like weeping. He shook his head, and then got the class list from his desk.
"Welcome, sixth years, to Defense against the Dark Arts. I am Professor Farring, and I hope you'll bear with me. I just had to deal with a very daft bunch of seventh years."
At this, he noticed a blonde Slytherin become furious. Todd vaguely noted that most of those seventh years were Slytherins. At least I didn't take away points because of their stupidity, he mused. As he plowed through this lesson, he noticed there was a girl who knew every answer. Hermione Granger. He considered asking her if she could help him; she was obviously more than capable. A flicker of recognition hit him. This was the girl who caught Rita Skeeter. Interesting.
"Miss Granger," he called after class.
Looking as though she'd already done something wrong, she made her way to his desk. "Yes, Professor?"
"Did you peruse the entire book that was assigned for this class?" He carefully avoided saying that it wasn't he who assigned it in the first place.
"Yes, sir." He noticed that she averted her eyes from his. He wondered why.
"Excellent. If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit hazy on the subject of Defense against the Dark Arts. Would you be so gracious as to help me with lessons?" He said this all very fast. He had no idea why he told her that he knew so little about Defense against the Dark Arts; he rarely told his failings to anyone. Waiting for her answer, he tried to See her. He found a swirling mass of confusion and book titles, and decided to let it go for awhile.
"Of course I'll help you, Professor," Hermione replied, still not looking directly at him.
"All right, then. Ask your fellow classmates for opinions on what they want, and overlook the material and try to map it out. I've only skimmed the textbook and it seems to be a bit perplexing if I went through it back to front," he explained.
Hermione nodded with agreement. "If you'll give me a week, I can have lesson plans," she offered.
"Oh, no. That's what I get paid for. You don't need to do that much," Todd refused. "Besides, you don't know what's going to come up in the NEWTs. I just need to know what exactly the students expect from this class."
"Right. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good bye, Professor Farring," she said as she turned to leave.
"Good bye, Miss Granger." In the back of Todd's mind, he made a mental note to ask her why she wouldn't look into his eyes. Could she know that he was a Seer? And if she did, how did she find out? Why would she be worried of seeing into his eyes? Maybe it's just because they're pink, he mused with sardonic humor.
(A/N: See, this isn't so bad, is it? Am I writing for myself? No...people seem to enjoy this. Speaking of them, I need to have a few words with them.
Black Sentinel: Thanks for reviewing. I hope you figure out what's lacking, cuz I really like to know what you think. Todd's an albino. I'd add more description, but that's not what matters. What he looks like really isn't important to the story. Glad you pointed it out though, cuz I didn't notice I didn't describe him a lot.
Oddball91: Hmmm...who be you? Just kidding. Could you tell me what you dislike and like about it specifically? I mean, thanks for reviewing and all, but as you know, I'm always looking for ways to get better. :-D You rock. Can't wait for Michigan!
Tekvah Ariel: Boy it'll feel weird if I ever have a chapter in the future where I'm not replying to your review. It's supposed to be confusing. It'll make sense later, though. Ummm...I don't feel too comfortable with lying to people...Doesn't matter, though. I got more reviewers, anyway. XD You rock, and keep reviewing!!