Reflections and Boredom:

Laying on the uncomfortable hospital bed three days after he had woken up Harry thought that he had never been so bored in his life. Upon reflection, he amended that thought, thinking that History of Magic had come close once or twice.

Thinking of Hogwarts, Harry remembered the old Hospital wing. At least there the ceilings Madame Pomfrey had him staring at for days on end had patterned tiles that were at least interesting to look at. The flat, undulating white surface above him provided no such

entertainment.

He had tried getting up and walking around the room this morning, standing at the window and taking in the view of the Garden for the first time. It hadn't lasted long since Dr. Kadowaki came in and lectured him back into the lumpy bed. Harry wished he could get out of that place. With nothing to do, and so few people coming to talk to him all he had to think about was the past.

That was only painful to the point that the weight in his chest made it difficult to breath.

Sitting with his back pressed hard against the headboard and the sheets bunched around his waist Harry tried tracing nonsense patterns in the material.

It wasn't particularly entertaining, but it was sufficiently mind numbing that the ache in his chest faded somewhat.

Selphie had promised him books from the school library and had asked if there were any in particular he would like. Harry had suggested history. And though the bright girl was yet to return it was, at least, something to look forward to.

It was only about ten in the morning, judging by the light as there were no clocks in the room much to Harry's relief, when the door swished open and someone other than Dr. Kadowaki stepped in.

It was a young man that Harry hadn't met before. But he had the scar that matched Seifer's and he wondered if this was the infamous rival.

The young man stood there for a moment, looking at Harry as if he hadn't thought about what to do after arriving. In an effort to get the stranger to say something Harry smiled. Or at least tried to, they were still rather brittle.

When the other's only response was to frown the smile fell, and with a soft sigh Harry nodded to the only chair in the room. The one he wasn't allowed to sit in, apparently.

"Have a seat if you like."

Still frowning the young man dressed in a dark jacket that seemed to be the exact opposite of Seifer's grand white coat took the two steps across the room and sat, bracing his elbows on his knees and rested his chin on his cupped hands.

Beginning to get annoyed with the random stranger Harry attempted to get at least a name from the reclusive individual.

"I'm Harry, by the way." He said, a question hanging in the air after his introduction.

Looking him straight in the eye the other man nodded, responding, "Squall."

Well, at least he had a name now.

Harry waited, hoping for an explanation for the visit.

With no answer being forthcoming Harry's patience gave out.

"Are you here for a specific reason or are you just hiding from someone?" Harry asked, a little off put by Squall's recalcitrant manner.

"Yes," Squall answered simply, and Harry spent a moment trying to figure out to which of his

suggestions the answer applied.

"Could you be more specific, please?" Harry asked, really getting annoyed now. Not that he was going to tell Squall to leave. Even infuriating company is still company and, therefore, welcome.

"I came to get Selphie off my back." Squall said with a slight huff, releasing a yawn a moment later.

Harry tried not to snort, but he had thought that Selphie would be like that. All sweetness and sunshine one moment and then something truly terrifying the next. It reminded him painfully of Luna.

Unfortunately, Harry wasn't entirely successful in covering the sound and Squall scowled at him. Harry wondered briefly what would happen if Squall was ever in the same room as Snape before shrugging off the awkward thought. Snape had been dead even before he...left.

Focusing on his visitor once again Harry noted the bags under the others eyes and the tension in his shoulders. No one was that on edge normally.

In an attempt to give the brunette a reprieve, he attempted another smile.

"If you want to go I'll tell Selphie that you came by. Stop her harassing you for a little while."

Squall looked as if he was about to take the offer when the door swished open again. Revealing

Selphie and Zell both laden with half-a-dozen books each. Sending an apologetic glance towards Squall, Harry looked at the two hyperactive SeeDs as they marched in with their loads. Harry was relieved to note that whatever else had changed books were still the same. And the written language was at least similar to the one he knew. The alphabet looked the same if nothing else.

"That's a lot of books." He commented idly as they were placed on the bedside table. "I'll see if I can get through them all before Dr. Kadowaki lets me out of here."

Selphie grinned at Harry happily.

"That is our entire History section!" Zell said, appalled that anyone would want to read their way through it at all, let alone in a week.

"And I am very bored," Harry said, a grin showing for a moment. Harry frowned as he thought about what Zell had said. If this was the library's entire History section then Hermione would have wept.

Wincing slightly as the thought of his friend caused the ache in his chest to twinge again, Harry sent a puzzled glance at Squall and Selphie.

"Is this seriously the entire History section?" He asked, a bit dubious about the idea.

Squall nodded while beside him Selphie chirped happily. "It's the largest section in the library."

Harry's draw dropped.

"You can't be serious!" He exclaimed. He didn't need to imagine, he knew Hermione would have wept at the very thought of such a poorly kept library.

The three in the room looked at him oddly and Zell nodded.

Closing his eyes for a moment Harry took a moment to remind himself that this was a technologically advanced society. It was quite possible that most of their history and information

was kept in some sort of computer database or the internet.

"I sincerely hope it isn't your only source of information then." Harry said eventually, thinking that he really would need to learn how to use their technology. It wasn't that he couldn't operate things. He had grown up with the Dursley's and not in the wizarding world. It was just that he wasn't used to it. The Dursley's never let him touch anything except the stove and the wizarding world had been so firmly rooted in the dark ages that it had ceased to be quaint and became somewhat bothersome.

Quills were all very well and good but pens were much easier to write with.

"Of course not." Squall said irritably, clearly thinking that Harry was an idiot. "Most of the

information we need can be accessed in the classroom computers."

Harry nodded dumbly. He had expected as much.

"We used to have a library with shelf upon shelf of books. The room was so large you could get lost in it." It was a quiet muse and Harry only half wanted them to hear the words. He was reluctant to tell them too much about his past...or the past in general. It was his and he wanted it to stay that way.

Zell obviously heard him and gave a low whistle.

Squall snorted, drawing the others attention to him instantly.

"Oh? And how did you stop them from rotting away? We have to replace ours every couple of decades, I can't imagine doing that for so many books." He said, a smirk playing about his lips.

Harry just looked at him. He thought they had magic in the future...and yet not his kind of magic obviously.

Deciding that some sort of answer was required Harry stuck to the simplest truth he could.

"Magic." He said with a slight shrug. While the answer was obviously standard for him, Zell and

Selphie looked at him with wide eyes while Squall just looked sceptical.

"What, like a stop spell or something? Except for inanimate objects?" Zell asked excitedly.

Harry frowned, he had no idea what a stop spell was. Though if he were to take it literally it might be something like Petrificus Totalus.

"We had a number of different preservation charms," Harry said, trying to keep the explanation to a minimum, "some were more effective than others, but it meant we could keep books and artifacts that were millennia old."

Squall eyebrows shot up and Selphie looked excited. Zell looked a little gobsmacked. Harry thought that if this was the way they were reacting then the future obviously didn't care very much for the physical reminders of their history.

"Seriously!" Squall asked, the doubt still evident in his voice.

"Yeah." Harry said simply, biting his lip as he thought before adding, "there were all sorts of things that used them. There was a hat from one of my school's founders that was over a thousand years old."

Squall's continued air of evident disbelief told Harry that nothing would convince the man apart from solid proof. As much as he wished he could Harry couldn't provide that, and it wasn't likely that the Sorting Hat was still around either.

Hogwarts was probably ruins by now, if that.

The weight in his chest throbbed painfully and Harry tried to hide the grimace as Selphie and Zell enthused with each other about the possibility that there was a time when magic, wielded by humans, could do so much."

In a desperate attempt to change the subject Harry looked at Zell and feigning enthusiasm as best he could.

"So what is this Stop spell you mentioned?"

It was easy enough to keep them talking for well over two hours, discussing the different spells that the SeeDs used and what their effects were.

It was interesting really, a lot of the spells were similar to ones that Harry had learnt, but they were weaker in general. After he had convinced Selphie to show him a little of her magic she had produced a Fire spell that hung in the air for a moment before burning out.

Harry imagined that, while it would hurt an opponent and would certainly come in useful starting a campfire, it wasn't overly powerful. Even bearing in mind that the other levels of the spell, Fira and Firaga were getting more powerful and damaging it didn't really compare to Incendio or Ignis Deglubere. Or even a simple Inflammare. It was into this train of thought that Dr. Kadowaki entered.

Scowling menacingly at the three SeeDs dotted about the room, she turned her ire to focus on Harry. Who was still obediently in bed, though he was sitting against the bed head rather than lying down as he knew she prefered.

"Enough already. You should be resting or you'll never get out of here." She said exasperatedly, and Harry suppressed a shudder at the thought of an eternity trapped in the small Med Bay room.

Wincing in sympathy the SeeDs obediently filed out and Harry settled back into the bed properly, grumbling under his breath. He felt fine, honestly. He wasn't in any pain, unless of course they counted the ache in his chest and he wasn't about to tell them about that. He didn't see why he had to stay locked up for another four days, at least. He wasn't even allowed out of his bed for Merlin's sake!

Harry watched as Kadowaki narrowed her eyes at him before leaving without another word.

As soon as the door had swished closed behind her Harry propped himself up on his pillows and lifted the first book from the pile. He wondered painfully, as he cracked the cover open, if Hermione would have believed what she was seeing if she was here now.