Seeing the Past, Present, and Future

Winged Horses

"I've got it!" Ron excitedly told his friend at breakfast the next morning.

"Got what?" Harry asked without much interest, still focused on his toast.

"We ask Hagrid," the other boy said quietly, leaning in closer so Harry could hear him over the noise of other people talking.

"What?" the messy-haired boy asked, now utterly lost as to what his friend was talking about.

"We ask Hagrid about—" here the red-haired boy jabbed his thumb towards the first-year Gryffindor who seemed to know too much.

"Oh," Harry said, finally understanding what Ron was talking about. "Okay, we can do it after classes today."

Ron laughed. "Assuming we survive potions. Something tells me Snape might still be mad from last time when the entire class left without his permission."

In the cold winter days that draped around Hogwarts like a suffocating blanket, the sun set earlier and earlier, severely limiting the amount of time Hogwarts students could spend outside after their classes. As Ron and Harry made their way to Hagrid's cabin they became aware of this fact, noticing that already the sun was partially hidden behind the Forbidden Forest.

"Hullo, Harry!" Hagrid called out as the two friends approached him.

"Hello, Hagrid," Harry replied, petting the thestrals Hagrid was currently feeding. "Thestrals," he briefly explained to a rather confused Ron who could not see the horse-like creatures.

"Been a while since I've seen you guys," Hagrid said brightly. "How have classes been?"

"Alright," Ron spoke, uneasily regarding the air where the thestral was standing. "Have you been showing some of your other classes thestrals?" he inquired of their presence.

"Nah," Hagrid said, fondly patting the beast. "You just happened to come around feeding time."

"Lucky us," Ron said in a slightly queasy undertone. Harry stepped on his foot as a reminder to the red-haired boy why they were here. "Oh, right!" Ron whispered to himself. "Oh, hey, we were wondering what the story is with Lupin's niece."

Harry hit himself on the forehead. Trust it to Ron to completely fail at the stealth approach. To the messy-haired boy's surprise Hagrid released a deep, booming laugh. "Exactly that, she's Lupin's niece. If you're looking for something exciting to investigate I'm afraid you're not going to find it with her."

Ron opened his mouth to say something else but Harry stepped forward and gently pushed his friend backwards to show that he was going to take over. "Oh, don't worry Hagrid, were not," Harry faked sincerity well. "We're just kind of curious why she's staying with Lupin when I've never heard Lupin mention her, or any siblings for that matter."

Hagrid shrugged. "Guess he and his brother aren't too close."

"So why is she staying at Grimmauld Place then?" Ron took control of the conversation again as Harry stepped backwards.

The half-giant paused in his feeding of the thestrals. "You don't have to be close to your family to trust them," he replied after a slight pause.

"But why even bother to send her to Grimmauld Place if she was just going to start Hogwarts in the fall?" Ron continued his line of questioning.

"I don't know, why don't you ask her?" Hagrid replied, seemingly becoming slightly annoyed.

"Huh?" the red-haired boy replied not-so-intelligently.

"She's coming over," Harry said suddenly, pointing towards a small figure traveling in the direction of Hagrid's hut.

She was rather close now, close enough to see her face clearly, and he had just opened his mouth to speak when she froze dead in her tracks, a look of terror on her face. "Thestrals!" she suddenly shrieked, arm raised and pointing towards the skeletally-thin winged horses.

"Wha?" Harry said turning in surprise towards the creatures behind him, before facing the young girl again.

"Carriers of Hell! Demons to the underworld! Devils carrying death upon their wings!" she hysterically shrieked, eyes wide.

"No, no! That's just a superstition!" their Care of Magical Creatures professor stated.

But it was too late; already she was fleeing back towards the castle as fast as her short legs could carry her. Next thing Harry knew he was running after her, simply because it seemed like the right thing to do. As his feet beat against the ground beneath him, he couldn't help but wonder how she could see the thestrals. Who did she kill? he thought to himself, before realizing the mistake in that sentence and, shocked with himself, quickly corrected it to Who did she see killed?

By the time he reached the Gryffindor common room he had lost sight of the young girl. Before he could ask Hermione the whereabouts of their young friend she questioned him.

"What happened?" the bushy-haired girl asked nodding towards the first year girls' dorms.

Harry, still panting from his sprint, flopped onto a seat near Hermione and leaned closer. "She can see thestrals," he whispered.

Hermione put a hand over her mouth. "That poor girl," she sympathetically whispered.

The Boy Who Lived raised an eyebrow. "I think it'd be better if we spent our time wondering about who she saw die."

"Probably a grandparent or something, like Neville," Hermione replied in an unconcerned tone. "That poor girl! And thestrals look rather odd, don't they?" she said, still worried about their young friend.

Harry nodded, thoughts still on who she could have seen die.

The sun had fully set. Dinner had been eaten and everyone had already returned to their common rooms. Harry and Ron were in the middle of a game of Wizard's chess, nearby a cold dark window, when the girl whose name they did not know came in through the portrait hole and took a seat nearby, watching the chess board. They both gave her a glance out of the corner of their eye but, unsure of what they could say, simply continued their game.

"E7," Ron spoke, his bishop swiftly moving to the designated spot.

"A5," Harry countered, moving his rook out of harm's way.

"A5," Ron said, a smile on his face as another bishop captured the rook.

Harry frowned slightly. What should he do now? Moving pawns was always safe. "D4," he said, the pawn slowly moving forward two spaces.

"D5," Ron moved his pawn forward, effectively blocking one of Harry's pawns from continuing any further.

The messy-haired boy looked at the board, frowning slightly in concentration.

"Move your rook."

Harry suspiciously glanced towards the previously taciturn girl. "This one?"

"No, no. This one," she tapped the rook on the other side of the board.

"To where? H5?"

The girl nodded. Curious, Hermione walked over and also started watching their game. "Who's winning?" the bushy-haired girl asked.

"I am," Ron said at the exact moment Harry said "Ron is."

"You guys already finished your potions essay?" Hermione asked, curious.

"It isn't due for a while," Harry casually replied. "Not until the 4th."

"Um, Harry," his bushy-haired friend started, "Today's the 3rd."

"No it's not," Harry scoffed, still continuing his game of chess with Ron.

"Yeah, it is, mate," his red-haired friend said, capturing another pawn.

"Crud!" the Boy Who Lived vehemently exclaimed, diving into his book bag. "Want to take my place, Hermione?" he asked, already taking a seat and setting out his blank parchment.

"Can I?" the first-year Gryffindor spoke.

"Sure," Hermione kindly said.

Lupin's niece took the seat opposite of Ron and picked up a pawn, moving it forward one square while it squabbled, saying it could move by itself, thank you very much. She didn't seem to notice and instead waited for Ron's move.

"So you can see thestrals? F8," the red-haired boy inconspicuously tried to question her. She nodded very slightly and moved her bishop. "Who did you see die? E6."

"RON!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It's okay," the little girl said quietly. "I ran into a boy in the hallway and he said he could see thestrals, too, so we talked for a bit and now I feel better." She paused. "As far as who I saw die, I don't know their names, it was just some couple walking down the sidewalk."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione in a confused voice.

"It was this couple—a boy and a girl—walking down the street outside my house. I was looking out the window and I saw them accidentally run into this man walking the opposite direction. The man got really mad and started yelling, and it looked like the couple was scared, the girl about to cry. And then there was more yelling and the angry man took out his wand. And then there was green light and the girl fell to the sidewalk. And then the boy started yelling and there was more green light and he fell down dead, too. So the angry man pocketed his wand and kept walking." She said all of this in a casual tone, the type one might employ when talking about the weather. "I was seven," she finished, picking up and moving her rook.

The Golden Trio stared at her. "Just—just like that?" Ron faintly croaked before quietly whispering "B4."

She shrugged. "I didn't know them and it was a valuable lesson, learning not to make people mad." The girl picked up her bishop again despite its protests that it could move fine on its own; clearly she was used to a Muggle chessboard. "It took him, too, you know," she said looking up.

"What took him?" Harry quietly asked.

"And who's him?" Hermione whispered, as if she was unsure her voice could go much louder.

"The green light. It took Uncle Adoni, too. I didn't see it and Daddy wouldn't tell me anything about it but I just knew." It took Daddy too, she mentally added, wanting to speak but not having enough courage.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Hermione said in a very quiet voice, her hands clasped over her mouth.

"Was the man caught? The one who killed the couple? C5," Ron finished.

"No, they never are," she said in a surprisingly light tone of voice. No one asked who "they" was.

"Is that why you came to live at Grimmauld Place? Because the killer was never caught?" Harry asked, now curious.

"No. That was a while ago, anyway," she replied, moving a pawn.

"So why did you come to live at Grimmauld Place? Because of Voldemort's second rise?" Harry inquired again.

"Who's rise?" she asked, turning towards the messy-haired boy who was currently gaping at her.

"You don't know who Lord Voldemort is?" Harry questioned in disbelief.

She shook her head, looking slightly scared at what their reactions might be.

"You haven't heard of You-Know-Who? D5," Ron also questioned.

She frowned slightly, thinking. "No, I know who You-Know-Who is. I'm confused now," she confessed. "Is that other name another name for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Voldermont?"

"Voldemort," Harry corrected, glad she wasn't totally clueless about the going-ons of the Wizard world. "So is that why you came to stay with Lupin? Because of Voldemort's second rise?"

"Um," she seemed to be thinking. "Kind of. More because, well. More because of Daddy, I suppose you could say." She moved her queen to the other side of the board.

"He wanted you to stay with Lupin?" Ron inquired before adding, "D1."

"I don't know. Maybe." The girl seemed to be more uncomfortable now, squirming slightly in her seat.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, leaning forward.

"Daddy…Daddy had to leave," she was looking down at her rather tightly wringing hands. It looked like there might have been tears in her eyes. "The—the green light took him, too," she said, a few tears silently carving their way down her face.

Hermione put her hands over her mouth in shock before walking over and giving the young girl a comforting hug. "Was that the last thing you saw before you left for Grimmauld Place?" she inquired, phrasing the question rather oddly due to the surplus of emotions.

The young girl took a deep shuddering breath and wiped the tears away from her eyes as Hermione took her seat again. "I'm okay," she said answering the question before it could be asked. "And no, the last thing I saw before I left for Grimmauld Place was green." She took a deep breath, fully regaining her composure, and moved her knight a few squares. "Lots and lots of green light."

The Golden Trio gave each other a few uneasy glances. "E5," Ron quietly stated in the uncomfortable silence.

"But—but if you saw lots and lots of the green light--" Hermione started, no one filling in the pause she left. "But if you saw a lot of green light then—then you'd be dead," the bushy-haired girl whispered the last part.

The young Gryffindor first-year in front of them didn't respond at first. Instead she plucked her knight from the board and, with a flick of her wrist, landed on the spot Ron's king had previously been occupying, sending it to the hard floor below with a loud crack, breaking it cleanly in half. "Maybe I am."

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or his world.

A/N: Please review.

Review Responses:

lumiereal: Yeah, it kind of was. I needed something to pass the time and showing her thinking allowed me to deal with some philosophical issues in addition to allowing the readers to see part of her mind. Thanks for reviewing.