Neville Longbottom is accidentally dropped from an upstairs window by his Great-Uncle Algie. When he bounces instead of falling to his death, it proves he is not a Squib. Suggestions of animal cruelty courtesy of a younger Gellert.

1988

1st January 1988

Dear GG

Blessed Merlin! My grandson is not a squib! Nev bounced when Algie dropped him out the third-floor window. Now I can cut Algie the idiot off the family tree. My main purpose in writing in is to ask if it would be proper to gift my son Frank's wand to Nev when he starts at Hogwarts. I feel it would be proper way for Nev to honour his father. Mind, it is not that we cannot afford a new wand for him. But the thought of Frank's wand lying in the drawer gathering dust while he and Alice are languishing in St Mungo…

I do wish for Nev to achieve great things with his father's wand.

Madame Longbottom

Spring 1988

Dear Madame

Congrats that you are not arranging a funeral for your grandson after his latest misadventure.

Oh, for the sake of Merlin's hairy backside… Clearly it has been a while since you were in School. I believe one of the first lessons we all learned was the wand chooses the wizard. If his father's wand responds well, it is all well and good. If not, do not insist or the results will be disappointment if not disastrous. Perhaps investing in a new wand that chose your grandson would be more apt than having his spells blow up on him.

Please do not be stubborn about this.

GG

1st April 1988

Dear Tante Giselle

I am sitting for my OWLs in Divination and my teacher for the subject is a drunken tosspot! I do not understand why she is still at Hogwarts. Each of us in her class have our deaths predicted within the year for the past five years and to date all of us are still alive. Then there is that fuzzy mumbo-jumbo on the inner eye and auras. I am doomed! My folks are gonna kill me if I get anything less than an O for Divination. My family has a reputation as soothsayers and Seers since the time of Merlin, so gramma claims. I tried working on my crystal gazing and I keep seeing this skull and snake combo. And they tell us He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is dead.

Oracle of Delphi

P.S. I sense he will be returning in our lifetimes. You will not live to see his defeat, not that it would matter to you by then.

Spring 1988

Dear Delphi

How charming, a death prediction for me?

First, the good news. You are a natural talent. As a Seer, I can confirm that there is a high probably Voldemort will be back going by the scattered Visions I have been receiving. Do not give him more power by fearing his name. Remember he is a has-been who was bested by a young mother protecting her child.

Now the bad news. All Seers are afflicted with the curse of Cassandra. We can shout out our warnings from the hills and get stoned for our trouble. If you wish to make the grade, perhaps a less contentious description of snow in December or blooming flowers? Cycle of nature. I used a self-fulfilling prophecy – I 'Saw' the demise of my fraud of a Divination Master's pet rabbit, then went out after the test to toss said rabbit into the Durmstrang hound kennels. Just to load the dice in my favour.

All the best with your OWLs.

GG

1st October 1988

Dear GG

I lost my rat Scabbers. Mom is going to kill me. The family finances are tight enough as it is. I mean, Charlie's saving his school-wand to be passed to Ron. I cannot get a new pet rat for my Transfiguration lessons!

Percy Weasley

Fall 1988

Dear Percy

If you are on a sinking ship, maybe you should take a page from the rat and abandon the ship. You are not on a sinking ship, are you? Leave the rat alone and it'll come home. Or borrow a rat trap from the groundskeeper and catch a brand-new rat.

And what is it with the passing down of wands in the family? Have your sibling test the wand first. If it does not work for him, pool your allowances together or offer to mow lawns to get enough galleons to buy him a new one.

GG

31st October 1988

Dear Tante Giselle

I lost my rat Morse. Papa is going to kill me as because it is a rare Giant Sumatran Rat, which he sent to me when he had to stay back in the East Indies. I think he was washed overboard. We ran into a spot of rough weather out of Gibraltar. I think our navigator majorly screwed up. Our most-esteemed captain has gone missing, and the first mate is sending out distress spells. We are casting bailing spells like crazy, but the water keeps coming in. The wizard wireless is toast as well and the lookout just spotted some Dementors or Leithfolds closing in.

Ocean Academy Head Boy

Fall 1988

Dear Boy

In this case, losing the rat is the least of your worries. I do wonder if any of your crew survived. Your rat likely did. Something the English say about rats and sinking ships. Do owl back if anyone survived.

GG

12th December 1988

Dear GG

You would not believe it, but my pet rat not only saved us all by swimming out to alert a wizard coastal patrol craft, but he turned out to be Papa stuck as a rat after a spell gone wrong. The wizards who rescued us did the scans and confirmed he is indeed my father. And I managed my first corporeal patronus together with the senior students, enough to hold back those Dementors until rescue came. Currently our vessel is pending salvage and our entire academy is stuck in port until further notice. No lives lost.

We found our captain as well, drunk below decks with the navigator and both likely to be fired for gross dereliction of duty. Seems they were also aware of my father's situation but decided to keep it from me as I was too young. I am sixteen! We thought Papa jumped ship on us! He has been with me all this while. I am working on my legilimency so I can communicate with him. Only issue now is how we are going to break the news to Mama, who is terrified of rats. Will be working on a counterspell to return Papa to his correct form. Wish us luck.

Ex-Head Boy

Author's Notes:

Grindelwald received a death prediction from the student writing in as the Oracle of Delphi? He must be wondering if this one is another Trelawny-style fraud.